By Lisa Austen
Bill Gates says: “If you are born poor, it is not your mistake. But if you die poor, it is definitely your mistake.” The Microsoft Founder does not castigate people who are born poor. Indeed, no human can choose when, where or how they are born. However, to arise from poverty, it needs ambition.
Another example is words of American entrepreneur and author, Robert Kiyosaki who says: “Your poverty today is because who you are. Want wealth? Go out of your anchors and inhibitions and change yourself.” Kiyosaki is author of global bestseller, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’, that he has authored from his personal experience.
What This Means?
The two quotes are self explanatory. They speak about the lack of ambition among common folk that leads to poverty. Every human, regardless of her or his roots, possesses innate capabilities that can propel them towards abundant wealth.
Yet, few are willing to dare into what they falsely believe are uncharted waters and take risks. History of entrepreneurships amply proved these axioms that Bill Gates and Robert Kiyosaki speak about.
Reasons You Will Be Poor
Understandably, there are few other reasons you will remain poor, even if you possess ambition. Here we look at some major inhibitors that will keep you poor life-long.
Killing Innate Skills
Every human on Earth is born with innate skills. Over a period, these skills get buried under the burden of useless studies, graduation degrees and interests we foist upon ourselves. Rather than choosing a profession or giving wings to entrepreneurial skills, a majority of people pursue careers they believe can lead to wealth.
Unfortunately, this is a myth. People acquire degrees without interest, often due to prestige involved rather than interest. Killing or suppressing your innate skills is the surest way to remain poor. You will perform a job to earn livelihood rather than work on something you enjoy. Consequently, growth is often stunted leading to relative poverty. Though you may earn well, it will never equal or surpass what could be made by practicing that intrinsic skill.
Comfort Zone
The second biggest reason you will always be poor is due to reluctance to move away from the comfort zone. This is true of all people, regardless of academic qualifications or family’s financial situation.
Once we work on any job, promotions and wage increments occur in due course. This lead people to falsely believe they are progressing in whatever their chosen career. Inadvertently, you may fall into this trap. It is extremely difficult to move out of a comfort zone you may have entered unwittingly.
Because going away from this comfort zone involves uncertainty and insecurity. You may find yourself making false excuses to remain within your comfort zone, though better opportunities and prosperity are knocking the door. Comfort zones lead to stagnation and consequently, poverty.
Shunning New Skills
Once proficient at some skill, a majority of folks are reluctant and sometimes wary of acquiring newer ones. They indulge in self deception, believing their skills are sufficient for a secure career and its growth.
In today’s world, this is sheer myth. Technologies nowadays are evolving faster than any time earlier in history. You may possess excellent skills today. Yet, it will not be long before these become outdated and redundant due to developments in technologies.
You may keep abreast with latest development. However, the trend nowadays is to possess additional skills that complement those you are proficient with. While one employer may be satisfied with your skill set, the other may demand more. Hence, shunning new skills is another surest way you can remain poor.
Relegating Financial Goals
Career and entrepreneurial goals are fine. You may have set them. But unless these goals center over financial objectives you wish to achieve, they are largely useless. Nobody can predict how much you or anyone can earn over a specific span of time.
Despite, you need to have a clear objective about how much money you should possess at the end of a calendar or financial year. Armed with this objective, you need to plan steps are to be taken to achieve them.
This may include change of job, innovation in your business model, relocation to a new geographical area or even a paradigm shift in your career. If goals do not integrate a personal financial vision, you are doomed to stay poor.
Single Source Income
Anyone who depends upon a single source of income is condemned to remain poor. Should you fall within this category of people- poverty is imminent. The Internet has opened immense vistas for people to make extra money and better utilize their skills for optimal earnings.
Here, we do not imply taking paid online surveys or other myriad tasks that pay money for work done during spare time. There are several excellent opportunities that allow you to become rich by diversifying sources of income. The most preferred is working from home.
One among these is crowd sourcing, where you can utilize your talents after work hours and earn lucrative remuneration for executing projects successfully. Other is by freelancing or moonlighting that enables you to take myriad projects and complete during free hours of the day. Unless you diversify your source of income, you will always be poor.
Hedged Savings
Understandably, you would not wish to risk hard earned money on investments that may fail. This fear leads most people to put their money into traditionally favored hedged savings schemes. Instead of developing a solid portfolio of investments, they prefer timed deposits and other plans offered by banks and other financial institutions.
The vast majority opts for security of money over high returns. While your money accrues some interest in traditional, hedged o safe schemes, banks and other financial institutions do not offer justifiable returns. You could fare better by making your money work harder.
Instead of sticking to safe bets, venture into the financial market and look for investment opportunities that involve highest returns. Admittedly, some of these involve medium to high risks such as stocks and commodities markets. But they definitely give you much higher returns. Should you be among those who prefer safe savings schemes, you will always be poor: you have missed excellent opportunities to get rich fast.
In Conclusion
There are many other reasons you will always be poor. These include lack of healthy recreation much needed by your body and brain, using credit cards and paying hefty interests on unpaid amounts, spending beyond means, substance and non-substance addictions, competing with wealthy colleagues or neighbors and a plethora of others.
Yet, remaining poor is solely your choice. People living on shoestring budgets have become rich with astute financial planning and proper utilization of skills. They pay attention to personal development that ushers happiness and financial wellbeing. You too can shed inhibitions we have listed above and pave way to prosperity.
American motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins puts it: “If you want to sincerely change your life, raise your standards. What changes people is when their shoulds become musts.” This simply implies that unless the mindset is changed, everything remains the same. Meaning, without a radical change in your present thinking in almost every sphere of life, you will always be poor. “ Your income right now is a result of your standards, not the economy, not the industry,” as Robbins rightly states.
